Former boxing champion Barry McGuigan was last night crowned the winner of Hell’s Kitchen and he’s already got some thoughts about his culinary future.

“Mcguigan’s mash,” he laughed on GMTV this morning (Tues 18th), “I’m certainly going to do something. Mcguigans’s sauce maybe but we’ll see!”

“I would never do it again (go back into Hell’s Kitchen) but (I’m) definitely going to ring Marco and ask him for some classes so I can reinforce it.”

McGuigan pipped Emmerdale actress Adele Silva into second place. Both had said they were useless at cooking before the competition and Barry laughed that: “I’d never cooked a thing in my life and now (I) know all the names of the utensils in the kitchen.”

Speaking of runner up Silva, McGuigan said: “Adele is brilliant and I’d said to her yesterday, I hope you win. She’s worked so hard. I could feel myself getting competitive in the last few days, and you don’t like yourself for it.”

“She (Silva) was so magnanimous though. She’s a great girl, very talented and she’s going to do very well. We’ve definitely seen the real Adele in Hell’s Kitchen. In that sort of claustrophobic environment you can’t have a false side.”

Asked about Jim Davidson, and the side of him that was seen in the Kitchen, McGuigan said: “Jim is a fabulous guy in many ways but he has a burgeoning angst that he needs to get rid of. He needs to go and get some help and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

After he topped the public vote last, the 46 year old dad of four said: “I feel great. It’s fantastic to win. I’ve had an incredible time.”

Barry won critics over with his “monster” mashed potato, with celebrity diners specifically ordering dishes that were accompanied by it.

“My hands are aching from the mash,” he laughed. “But I’m certainly going to be working in the kitchen at home from now on!”

Barry paid tribute to head chef Marco Pierre White, describing him as “an exceptional man” for guiding the ten celebrities through weeks of gruelling service. “He worked with us from the early morning until service in the evening. He really did work so hard.”

“I personally don’t think I’ve ever perspired as much in my life. It’s so tough and physically demanding in the kitchen but it was an exceptional experience.”

Actress Adele Silva and former boxer, Barry McGuigan will go head to head in tomorrow night’s final of ITV1 reality TV show, Hell’s Kitchen. The pair found themselves in the final after fellow chefs, Brian Dowling and Paul Young were voted out by the public.

Master Chef Marco Pierre White is thought to back the Emmerdale actress to win after telling her:

“If I had to choose a winner, it would be you. You’ve worked so hard compared to everybody else.”

Barry McGuigan

Aged 46

Food heaven: pasta, chicken, fish and vegetables; Irish fry ups

Food hell: Barry doesn’t have a food hell.

Former Boxer, Barry McGuigan, is no stranger to pressure. He channelled his anger and aggression to become the best in the world during his professional fighting career. But now he has hung up his boxing gloves and is heading into the kitchen – will he be able to leave his fighting talk at the door?

Barry says: “Aggression is primal. Everyone has aggression and every boxer is born with aggression. Every fighter that has been a great fighter has had the ability to use that in a very special way.

“I pick things up slowly, especially things I have never done, and I’ve never had the inclination to start cooking. My only concern is that I will get angry and I don’t want to do that. Anyone who gets angry at someone else – it isn’t nice.”

Barry thinks that he doesn’t stand a chance up against a woman in the kitchen – mainly because unlike women he can’t think about more than one thing at any one time!

“The big issue is women can do two things at once but men can’t and I certainly can’t! Sometimes I can’t even have a conversation because I am thinking about something else. I don’t know if it’s from my addled brain from boxing or just an idiosyncrasy however I find multi – tasking hard.

“I want to learn to cook and I realise that in order to learn I have got to apply myself. My objective is to be a decent cook by the end of it and I hope I stay in long enough and people can tolerate me for long enough.

“I think I will be like Mutley from Wacky Races in the kitchen – growling and getting grumpy. And the odd Father Ted ‘feck’ thrown in for good measure!”

On working with Marco Pierre White, Barrie says: “I hope Marco and I can click, there is no guarantee that will happen. I don’t really know Marco – I hear conflicting reports about him. Enfant Terrible and I then hear he is a really decent guy.

“I’ve met Marco twice at a Christmas lunch. I don’t get intimidated – being a fighter you don’t. But he is a big lad – as my father would say, ‘I’d rather keep him for a week than a fortnight!’”

Barry’s cooking repertoire is currently somewhat limited to beans on toast, fry ups and spaghetti, but he is hoping that Hell’s Kitchen might make a chef of him so he can put the pinny on from time to time and cook for his family.

“My goal primarily is to learn to cook and cook several dishes well. I want to be able to feed my family and they all can have a day off. I have never had to think about that so now it is time to learn.

“Also with my son being a boxer he has to eat certain things to remain at his fighting weight so I would like to be able to cook for him when my wife is away.

“I don’t know what I have let myself in for! The difference with this is it’s a proper task and there is an objective – I need that objective. I can do the basics – beans on toast and occasionally I can do spaghetti but I don’t do it very well.

Barry, who counts his dream dinner party guests as James Joyce, Mohammad Ali and JFK, is worried about the long hours and hopes there will be some downtime amongst the hard graft.

“I am worried about the long boring tedious stuff – I have a damaged knee ligament and can’t stand still for long periods of time. I tell you how I know that – following my daughter and my wife around shopping! So I hope that there will be times to sit down and relax.

“As a boxer you go in the ring for three minutes and you sit down for one minute and as an amateur you box for two minutes and sit down for one minute. So I will be looking for rest, but I am a hard worker and a grafter and I really want to learn.”